Resident Evil: Degeneration Unfinished Business
by ffdarkwolf77
Summary: Angela and Leon thought they'd never see each other again, but it seemed that fate decided they had some unfinished business to attend to. Their story after the events at Harvardville
1. Chapter 1 The Move

Dec 1 2013 - Sorry everyone, I'm still working on this, it's not dead yet! But it might die if I don't get my butt moving A chapter playlist can be found on my profile page.

Chapter 1 - The Move

As an officer in the S.R.T forces, she had been exposed to a lot of traumatising things, but everything was too close to home and the loss, heartbreak, and guilt was wearing her out. Some people still believed that her brother was the villain and didn't understand that in the end he was a victim as well. She knew she couldn't absolve him of what he'd done, but they were so quick to judge. It's not easy dealing with the aftermath of suddenly losing all your family and she wished he had turned to her after the Raccoon City tragedy instead of distancing himself. Maybe then he would still be alive and she wouldn't be completely alone right now. She had no family left and while her friends had been a great support, they had their own families to look after. She just…wanted to wipe the slate clean.

"A transfer?" repeated Jack. "Why now, after all these months have passed? I thought you were fine."

Angela Miller was standing in front of the Chief of the Special Response Team in Harvardville. She had pretended that she was coping, trying to fool herself into believing that everything was 'fine', but she hadn't succeeded. She had felt abandoned and bitter, inadequate. She couldn't help her brother and Leon, who she thought could relate to about her experience, didn't appear to share the same connection; she hadn't heard from him since he left and she wasn't sure which scenario she wanted to believe. She wanted to feel better, but she kept re-living that night, her brother's turning and then his horrible death. She was through with riding an emotional roller-coaster, with its highs and lows. She wanted things to be the way they used to be, when she at least knew Curtis was alive and she didn't keep wondering whether a man she barely knew was alive or not. So, she had stuck to her old routine believing that it would eventually stop feeling alien to her. The team had believed the act, but it wasn't working for her. It was her fault though for not letting them know how much she'd really been affected, but she couldn't seem to express how she felt inside. She didn't really seem to have words for all the emotions, or lack of, but sometimes it felt like she was sinking…or drowning.

"I've been an idiot all this time, Jack. Fooling myself into thinking that with how things had changed I needed a constant in my life. I followed the same patterns every day, but I didn't try to fix anything. I'm sick of going through the motions, but I need an escape from my thoughts and this place."

Jack wasn't expecting such a raw response from her and it had really surprised him since they had never really been on the best of terms. He didn't say anything for a while, just studied her as he tried to respond to her sincerely. She didn't look unwell, but she looked a bit tired. He had often thought she was spirited and passionate about her job and now, though she was still a hard worker, she was evidently lacking that spark she used to have before. In the end, even if he could think of something to make her feel better, he doubted that it would help coming from him, "Well, I know that you've been through a lot, but I assumed that since there haven't been any issues brought to my attention that you were coping alright. I guess we should have realised that perhaps you were acting…too normal considering. I'm sorry that things turned out this way Angela, but I hope you'll be able to make it through this difficult period; good officers are always in demand."

Angela was shocked to hear Jack's words. It was a compliment from the indifferent villain of their squad. Not many on her team had viewed him favourably as he had kept them on a short leash when they had undertaken extracurricular activities to uncover conspiracies related to WilPharma. As she had been unsure of what to say she looked at him a bit warily in silence as she contemplated what to say to the usually stoic man.

As the silence stretched Jack spoke up, "You don't have to look at me like that. I'm your commanding officer and it's my job to make sure you all stay safe. In my case that has included threats outside of the field, from people you have no chances of winning against. Remember that when you go chasing after a lead and I'm not there to protect you."

"I…Jack…" Angela had started to say, but he interrupted her as he started signing the papers in front of him.

"Say 'Hi' to Rick for me. And tell him, we can't all be lucky carefree bastards like him. Now get out of here Angela, you've been a pain in the butt, sticking your nose in where it shouldn't have been, but you were always an excellent officer and be sure to give Rick as much trouble as you did me," Jack added with a playful smile.

She and Jack had never gotten along, coming to heads with each other about the limit of her duties and so she was pleasantly surprised by the outcome of her meeting. "Thank you Jack and I'll be sure to give 'em hell." Shaking hands goodbye, Angela thought it was unfortunate that she and her teammates had misjudged their Chief. However, that would be a problem to rectify when she returned. For now, she was glad to have left on friendly terms with him and went on to make her farewells to the rest of her teammates. She was sad to be leaving them. After all, saving each other's asses so often in the field meant that they all had formed a special bond, one that she would miss while she was gone, but it would always be there. As she looked back at the S.R.T. building there was a sense of finality. She wasn't sure when she'd return to Harvardville and while she was initially anxious about moving to an unfamiliar place, the heavy feelings slowly started seeping away as she and her belongings got further away from her hometown. She felt a bit more hopeful about the future and a bit more excited about the unknown.


	2. Chapter 2

Yay! Ch2 Updated! I was going to write the next scene, but I'm too tired, too busy and it would probably take me a few hours. So I've left it at about 1000 words. Bit harder trying to pick songs for this one. But I did like the feel of 'All Saints – Pure Shores' and 'The Rolling Stones – Gimmie Shelter'. Well, I was going to add a list of songs that I like for this fic on my profile page, but ffnet doesn't like me. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter, even if there's not much action and hope it's an improvement from the previous one. Thanks for reading

Chapter 2 - New Kid on the Block

Angela was born and raised in Harvardville and she had never really left it, except for the few times she had taken road trips with friends during spring break. Her fondest memory had been of Toledo, she had been so happy and free of worries. Those memories partly influenced her choice to return there once more for her transfer. The other reason was the almost stark contrast of the city to her hometown. Toledo had a population of 400,000; was located on the Southeastern coast; had a tropical climate; and a glitzy vibe that often came with popular coastal cities. Harvardville on the other hand, had a population of about 100,000; was located near the East Coast with a temperate climate; and had a pretty close-knit, easy going atmosphere. It was hard trying to find similarities between the two places and she loved that fact.

She had finished getting the essentials unpacked in her new apartment and was now letting the sun bathe her in warmth as she stood on her balcony. New smells and a few old familiar ones from the last time she visited the city flooded her senses bringing forth good memories of her time here. She was definitely a woman of simple pleasures, but liked a few wild adventures occasionally to liven things up. For now though, she'd settle for a leisurely walk around the place to reacquaint herself with the city and in the meantime, the rest of the boxes with her belongings would have to wait while she enjoyed the Saturday afternoon sun.

Angela had had a few days before she had to report to her new team leader for duty and she could already feel the difference. She wasn't entirely sure whether it was the weather, the change of scenery, or the fact that no one knew her history, but it felt like a burden had been lifted from her shoulders. She felt free - free from the chains that bound her in Harvardville and free to find herself with her new carte blanche. So, it was with this elated feeling in tow that she entered the new building she'd be working at. However, after her first meeting with her commanding officer she was cringing inside at the thought of having to put up with him the entire time she'd be here. She knew most units tended to have their own "code" and as the new transfer officer she figured it probably wasn't best for her to kick up too much fuss just yet. So for now, she'd get to know the team before she brought up the issue of his…obnoxious flirting. She just hoped he'd stop his demeaning behaviour once she started to make a place for herself among her new team members. Following him, Rick, down the corridor, she was passed onto the only other female officer in the team. "She'll give ya a tour of the place sweet-cheeks. See ya later," he said, winking as he turned to walk back towards his office and left Angela staring dumbfounded at his back.

The tall slim blonde cleared her throat quietly, trying to suppress her amusement at the episode that unfolded in front of her. "Melissa Gideon. Nice to meet you Angela," she offered her hand as she greeted Angela.

Having been disturbed out of her shock by Melissa, Angela realised that her hand was still hanging in the air waiting for her to take it. "Same here," but before Angela could say anything further she was interrupted by Melissa.

"Okay. You look pretty furious right now and I figure you'd probably like to give his face a makeover. But please don't, I swear he does it to everyone who's new to the team and it's not because he's a chauvinist. He just doesn't acknowledge anyone until he's seen them in action or spar with him on equal grounds. So, please don't report him! I think another complaint and he might just get a suspension this time, and trust me the stand-in officer is exceptionally worse." Melissa said hoping that Angela believed her.

Angela let her irritation seep away. She wouldn't have made a complaint about him before getting to know everyone, but the explanation definitely helped cool her temperament towards her commanding officer. Course, Melissa had also given her a good excuse to show Rick her capabilities as an officer – she hadn't been the head of her squad for nothing. "Well, I probably wouldn't have said anything on my first day back on the job, but thanks for the tip. Now I know I can legitimately rearrange his face and put it down to opening his eyes to the truth," Angela replied with a grin on her face.

Melissa smiled and replied, "I don't doubt you will…eventually, but most of us have had to have at least a few rounds with him before we've even gotten close to taking him down. The man's as tough as an ox, though the more experienced guys hold their own against him pretty well. If you're that eager to 'have at him' you might want to get some tips from them first. Also, watch out for his left hook. I've only won against him once, but that's because I distracted him and I was this far from using really dirty tactics. Well, admittedly I haven't got as much combat experience as the others so I'm pretty sure he was going a bit easy on me too."

"Thanks for the tips, and for being so frank with me Melissa. It's rare for me to come across someone who's willing to admit they're still learning in our area, but I've actually been doing this a while and I still feel like a newbie sometimes. I guess that makes me sound a bit lame, but I guess you've really helped me feel more at ease. I've never really worked outside of my hometown and I have to admit, that I was actually a bit nervous about it."

"Well, I'm sure you'll feel right at home in no time. Apart from Rick and the pompous stand in officer, who I hope you never get to meet, you'll click instantly with the other guys on our team. They act like immature kids occasionally, but only in a good way. You should see the things we get up to sometimes, and we have evidence of our exploits too!" Melissa chuckled. "Anyway, let's see the rest of the place and I'll introduce you to the guys."


	3. Chapter 4 Amazon

(Authors Note: This is the first fanfiction I have ever written, but rest assured knowing that I am a fanfiction reader veteran. Now, I would like to say that I don't care what you have to say about my story, but I do. Even though I wrote it just to get stupid thoughts out of my head, I would appreciate some positive comments or constructive criticism about my story. Apparently, it is obvious that I'm a science student from the way I've written, but hopefully my style won't put anyone off. That being said, please enjoy - and just a warning, this is a LeonxAngela fic. I know there are people out there who don't like this couple, so I'll advise you to not waste your time reading this. BTW, credit to my friend who helped edit this for me :P It wouldn't be half the story it is without her. Lastly, all rights to capcom for their characters etc etc, the horrid plot, however, is my own :P)

Chapter 4 - Amazon

"What's that sound?" Melissa asked Angela. It wasn't too far away.

"Maybe it was just a dog? In any case, it's pretty chilly. Let's get going."

They had started walking again when suddenly Angela felt breathing down her neck, gasping she turned around, but there was no one there.

Melissa, seeing her friend's reaction stopped as well. "What's wrong?"

"There was…well it felt like…never mind. I must have been imagining things. Anyway let's go already, I'm freezing! I can't believe I let you talk me into wearing this short skirt!" said Angela, eager to get away.

"Hah, already there babe!" and with hopes of a good night they both made their way into the club.

Angela was surprised; she'd never really been much of a clubber, but she loved this place, it was definitely one of the best she'd been to. The bass reverberated through their bodies, compelling their bodies to move together in primal fluid motions. It was better than she remembered; such sheer freedom, and from the smile that Melissa gave her, she guessed that she was feeling the same thing.

They made their way to the bar and Melissa insisted she get a drink, "Come on I'll get you a Quick Fuck!"

"WHAT!" exclaimed Angela, she had to have misheard. Was Melissa trying to get her to sleep with someone?

Amused by her incredulous face, Melissa explained, "It's a drink! It really hits you hard though, hence the name."

"Oh," she said slightly embarrassed; she'd never actually gone that far with someone. It's not that she didn't want to. When she was younger her brother had stopped any sort of clandestine encounters with her boyfriends and when she was older she didn't like any of the guys enough to do that with them.

Several drinks later, Melissa and Angela were really starting to enjoy themselves. The sight of their lithe bodies seductively moving together was gaining a lot of attention from some of the male company, but the two women ignored them. It was not until Angela felt a cold brush of fingers across the nape of her neck did she bring her attention to her surroundings. Turning her head, she tried to see if she could spot the person who had dared to touch her, but could not see anyone.

She forgot about it until a hand brushed across her hips and someone murmured something in her ear. She swung around this time, determined to catch the culprit, but yet again saw nothing. She was frustrated now, so she shouted to Melissa, "Could you keep an eye out? Someone keeps touching me."

Melissa agreed, but she too couldn't see anyone suspicious, apart from the few men who were staring at them hungrily. Suddenly, she spotted Rick not too far away and motioned him over, "Hey there, you big hunk! Did you just turn up? What are you doing here?" Angela turned around and gave him a quick smile, but he looked pretty grim.

"Not much. Thought I'd just drown my sorrows for a bit. Don't you guys have better things to do than jump around the place, getting eye-balled by perverts?" said Rick distastefully.

"Oh, don't be such a killjoy!" Melissa exclaimed. "In any case, we'll probably be heading off home now since it's getting quite late. Sound like a plan to you, Angela?"

Brushing her hair out of her face, Angela agreed. She was really getting quite uneasy; whoever the pervert was, he was really pushing his luck.


	4. Chapter 5 Flicker

Chapter 5 - Flicker

Leon Kennedy lay sprawled across his leather couch. It was one of the rare occasions that he was off-duty and his head was swimming with all sorts of thoughts. He thought his life was simple: get missions, complete them, try to wipe out the T and G virus that wreaked havoc, survive. The past couple of years his love life had been nonexistent and while he had believed that there was only one woman that he had feelings for, there was no promise of a happily ever after. The past couple of months, however, had proved to be particularly trying since there was now someone else who plagued his thoughts. Both Ada and Angela had greatly complicated his life and he was starting to worry about his safety; thoughts of them sometimes drove him to distraction and in his profession that was definitely asking for trouble.

His cellphone beeped, interrupting his thoughts, "Have you got something for me, Hunnigans?"

"There's someone who wants to meet with you. He says he's got some important information that'll he'll only share with you. I'm sending over the details of the proposed meeting time now. Will you need transport or will you be able to make your own way there?" asked Hunnigans, business as always.

"I'll get there myself." He hoped that it would be sufficient enough to distract him from his current line of thoughts. Looking over the details that Hunnigans had sent, he could see that the meeting would happen tonight in a city not far from here. Getting ready for the encounter he decided it would be safest to push all thoughts of the two women from his mind.

...

It was unusual for Leon to be standing in queue at a club, but it belonged to the informant and he obviously felt safest meeting with Leon here. When the bouncer saw his ID, he motioned to the other security guard to take him inside. The club was thrumming with bodies and looked to be popular with a range of age groups. Nearing a discrete black door at the far end of the room Leon saw someone familiar, 'Angela?' It was brief though and then he couldn't see her anymore. 'Am I that obsessed I'm beginning to see her around the place?' he thought to himself.

He didn't have time to ponder on it though as the security guard directed him to go on through without him. At the moment he had more important things to think about; he absolutely could not afford to get distracted now, not when there seemed to be a serious threat on the horizon.


	5. Chapter 6 Home Sweet Home

Chapter 6 - Home Sweet Home

Angela had showered after returning home and was now collapsed on her bed. She really had enjoyed her night out with Melissa - the strange events at the club already forgotten - but she was definitely never drinking so many of those shots again! Her head was still spinning and she sincerely hoped she wouldn't have a hangover in the morning. In the meantime her sub-conscience seemed determined to conjure up images of Leon and she wondered if he was safe and well, but before these thoughts could weigh too heavily on her mind she quickly fell into a deep sleep.

...

She was so beautiful when she slept, demure and submissive, the way she should be, unlike her behaviour at the club. Her carnal gyrations had been enough to put him in a murderous mood and since she hadn't heard his warning he had to sate it by letting it out on the filthy man that had dared to leer at her the whole night; he could still hear him screaming for forgiveness and it brought a smile to his face. Turning his attention back to the woman in front of him he realised that she'd obviously forgotten their past, but he'd make her remember her transgressions. She stirred slightly as his hand breezed across her cheek possessively. There would be time enough for that in the future. For now, he'd try to wake her up to the truth unobtrusively. "All in due time," he whispered, before disappearing out the way he came.


	6. Chapter 7 Insomnia

Chapter 7 – Insomnia

The next day, Melissa had woken Angela up bright and early and they had spent the entire day together sightseeing. Now that the fun had ended and Angela was snuggling into bed she couldn't help but wonder if it was something she could get used to - forgetting about the past and the questions that haunted her and just live her life as it was right now. Thinking about it harder she realised she'd never be able to run away from it for long; her conscience wouldn't let her. She could never let something like what happened to her brother happen to anyone else nor would she let people like Frederic Downing do what he did, not if it was within her power to act against it. (She knew that she'd always be searching for the truth whatever that may be). She'd also never be able to escape her feelings for Leon. It had been nearly 6 months, she hadn't seen him even once since their parting on that hill, and her feelings had persisted as strong as ever. She doubted she'd ever see him again and she had to wonder whether she'd carry the burden of loving him forever.

Just as she was starting to doze off, however, she heard a noise. It was faint, but it definitely sounded like movement inside her flat. Adrenaline pumping, she slowly slipped out of bed and grabbed the closest potential weapon, an empty glass bottle. Moving from room to room she neither saw nor heard anything. As she approached the living room, however, she could hear flapping. Raising the bottle to inflict damage on the intruder, she stopped as she realised that the window was open and breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't remember opening it, but she was a bit dazed when she had returned home that evening. Putting the bottle down, she returned to bed, unaware of what danger lurked in the dark.


	7. Chapter 8 Jeepers Creepers

Chapter 8 – Jeepers Creepers

Once again Angela found herself in Melissa's company, who was proving to be a very good distraction from things she'd rather not think about; this time Melissa had invited her over for dinner after work, but not before Angela picked something up from her apartment.

"Wow! I had no idea you had such a spectacular view of the sunset from your apartment Angela."

"I know, it's beautiful isn't it? Unfortunately it means that I get distracted here a lot and end up thinking about unnecessary things."

"Unnecessary things?"

"…my past; people and things that I'd be better off not dwelling on."

"Oh. Sorry I didn't mean to dig up old wounds… …On a different matter, your apartment is giving me the heebie-jeebies; I feel like someone's watching us and I keep expecting to see someone else here, yet I know it's only us two. I'd really like to get out of here soon; what exactly are you looking for? I don't mind giving you a hand if it gets us out of here quicker."

"Heebie-jeebies?' Angela repeated before chuckling, "I haven't heard someone use that word for such a long time, but now you've got me creeped out! Anyway, don't worry about it. I've finally gotten what I was looking for, so we can leave now."

"Um what are you talking about? Actually, never mind. You can tell me all about it at my apartment so long as we can get out of here pronto"

"Well you did promise me dinner. So, right now, since you're creeped out and I'm hungry that's exactly what we're gonna do. Come on then, you don't want me to lock you up in here do you?" Angela said smirking, but despite her light-humoured comment, Melissa's comment had struck a chord with her; she had never noticed this eerie feeling before, but that's probably because she was always so preoccupied with her thoughts when she was alone. She just hoped that it wasn't here when she returned to her apartment alone.


	8. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – Dinner with a Side of Terrorism, But Don't Forget the Dessert

Melissa had made a pretty good meal, mushroom risotto, and now they were just finishing off with a bottle of sweet red wine.

"Sooo…"

"So?"

"So…what did you find at your apartment? You seemed pretty excited about it."

For a moment Angela was relieved, though she didn't know why she should be; sure she'd been a little bit more distracted lately because of her investigations, but nothing that she wasn't too afraid to share with Melissa. Okay, so perhaps she wasn't being entirely honest, she genuinely was afraid of openly admitting that she was distracted by a guy who she barely knew and who barely knew her too. What was she going to do with herself? "Well, I don't know whether I should tell you. The last time I ended up investigating this type of thing, my whole team had to pay for it. I appreciated their support, but unfortunately their chances of promotions were pretty slim after joining my team. Though, I should add that at the time I was investigating a pretty high profile group."

"Well, you don't have to worry about me; I know you're a good person, so whatever you're looking into, it's probably to expose some sham. Plus, do you really think I want some snotty office position? I'm in the S.R.T. to kick ass, I'm not going to give that up easily! Anyway, I'm going to hazard a guess and say this group was WilPharma, right?" at Angela's slightly surprised face Melissa explained, "You mentioned them a couple of times before in our previous conversations. I thought all that was resolved though? WilPharma was bought by TRICELL and now they run a fairly standard operation and everyone's happy now."

"Well, WilPharma wasn't actually the one behind the original terrorist attacks, Frederic Downing was. I thought that everything was over once he was put away and WilPharma was bought out, but a while ago someone contacted me. They told me to watch out for TRICELL and to keep my eye on a group known as the MFE, or Mankind for Evolution. After the events at Harvardville, I couldn't ignore the warning and since then I've been trying to investigate both groups' movements, but haven't had much luck. TRICELL is squeaky clean, almost too much, and MFE has been a pretty inconspicuous group. Occasionally they'd stage small demonstrations about their motto, 'that by not using the technologies available to us, we're obstructing mankind's evolution to a higher being', but that's been about it."

"So the information you received today, you said it was small but it was still something. Did you get some info on TRICELL perhaps?"

"No such luck. Honestly, I don't think I'm going to get anything on TRICELL; they're too big and too clean, so I'm thinking that any success will lie with exposing MFE. There must be a connection between the two groups for Mr X to have warned me about them, but there doesn't seem to be one."

"Mr X? I wouldn't have pegged you for an X-files fan," Melissa stated with a bit of a smirk, her comment breaking the serious atmosphere that had settled in.

"Well, I didn't know what else to call my mysterious informant, but that's not important so shame on you for distracting me."

It was said in a teasing manner so Melissa knew Angela wasn't scolding her seriously. However, in all honesty, what little Angela had told her had gotten her a little worried. What would Angela get into if she kept digging? With organisations like TRICELL, if there was any dirty laundry, she wouldn't put it past them to 'take out the laundrywoman'. On the other hand, what would be the consequences of not delving into this business, another Raccoon City and Harvardville?

"Anyway, back to what I did find, I got a lead on MFE today; they've had a major spike in their activities and it even looks like they've received a lot of funding. Unfortunately, as tempted as I am to claim that their funding came from TRICELL, I doubt I'd be able to find any proof and I can't be sure it's not someone else."

"Hmmm. Perhaps you need a Dr Watson to your Sherlock Holmes? I have a few friends...okay one, in the industry. With any luck they might be able to get us some information which gives us a clue as to why your Mr X told you to watch out for those groups."

"Really? That'd be amazing Melissa, thank you! I never expected this much help, but I'd be glad for it. I would never be able to get that kind of information on my own. Plus, bringing down evil conglomerates is always more fun with a friend." Angela was thrilled; she might actually get somewhere faster now with some help from her friend. She might be able to stop another tragedy, or tragedies, from happening in the future and she would have Melissa to thank for it, for helping and supporting her. She may have been jumping the gun a bit, but she had been at a stalemate for a little while and the shred of light she now saw was enough to fill her with hope for the success of her investigation.

"I'll get in contact with her tonight. What bothers me about Mr X though is why he'd tell you about TRICELL. It might be nearly impossible for you to get any dirt on them so why send you after them; what does he want you to find out? He must be an employee or someone closely related. Not to mention, why did he get in contact with you? Cause no offense babe, but there must be other higher standing people out there who could get results more easily.

"I've been wondering the same thing myself. If this group is going to engage in terrorist activities, you'd think he'd have contacted someone more relevant, who could actually do something. I've tried getting in touch with some higher ups, but they brushed me off, so maybe he had the same treatment too. Anyway, he warned me and now I've got responsibility to figure out the truth. Plus, going through the same horrors that I had to...I would never let that happen to anyone else if it was within my power."

"I understand. I suppose that's just your nature; you're the kind who looks for the truth no matter what, tries to uphold the justice and protect the people. Glad that somebody's doing it though, otherwise, I guess the whole world would have fallen into ruin ages ago."

Angela fell silent as she started to stare off into the distance. Talking about corrupt pharmacies and saving people got thinking about Leon and she felt a painful twinge in her heart as she thought of him.

"Angela? Yo, Aaaaangela? What's wrong? You went into dream world for a while there. Has something else been bothering you lately, you've been a bit spaced out at work too. You know you can tell me. We may have only been friends for a short while, but I feel like we've been best friends since we met, though you might feel differently…"

"No definitely! I've never really become such close friends with someone in such a short time, but I guess I'm just a bit confused at the moment, well have been for quite a while" There was a pause as Angela debated telling Melissa, but then she continued, "The truth is, I'm in love with someone" Was that right? That was the first time she'd said she loved him, but surely one needed to interact more before you started to fall in love with someone. "But I feel like a stalker! We don't really know each other that well and I haven't seen him for months, nor am I likely to ever see him again. I feel so stupid feeling so attached. I feel wretched knowing that, and I'm afraid I won't stop feeling this way; that I'll love him forever, never able to move on and love someone else."

"To be blunt, I can't say I approve of your attachment, since I think 90% of men are scum, but I know what it's like to carry the burden of loving someone even when they're not there with you. It's hard and doesn't seem to ever leave. Though, having someone else around helps, like to distract you. Gradually, you learn to move on and you start thinking of that other person less and less." Melissa smiled reassuringly.

Angela smiled half-heartedly in response, she didn't entirely believe Melissa, but she was just trying to help . It had been so long and her current investigations made her feel hopeful that she would run into him again, because it felt just like last time; it was one of the things that helped her to pursue her search with such fervour, all in the hopes of meeting him again accidently.


	9. Chapter 10 Ache

A/N: Oh the horrors! My editor is too busy to edit this chapter, so I'm paranoid that it's going to have horrible grammatical errors! Not to mention she also tells me if things seem a little...too odd or farfetched. Well, if there are any errors or anything, I'll just make changes later. Please enjoy, and we're getting closer people! (Not the end of course, that's still aaaages away, but we're getting closer to an Angela and Leon meeting!) Oh, oh, oh and before I forget, I think Def Leppard's song 'Kiss the day' goes pretty well with this chapter, mostly towards the end where Angela is pondering. I listen to music all the time even when writing/reading, so when this song popped up while I was writing I was like 'Hmmmm, maybe I shall start recommending songs to go with chapters to set the mood and stuff...'

Chapter 10 – Ache

"Good evening, Mr Kennedy. Shall we get down to business? But where are my manners? Would you like any refreshments or perhaps you would like to partake of something a bit more…stimulating?" said the greasy man motioning to a packet of white powder.

"Mr Sanguini, you should be more aware of whom my employers are; I could easily have you prosecuted for possession of illegal substances. So I suggest you put that stuff away."

"Mr Kennedy, no need to be so cruel, I thought we had an agreement. I give you the information you want and you protect me from the parties involved. At any rate, I'm merely a host concerned about his very important guest. A guest who could do with some loosening up; are you sure I couldn't tempt you with anything else?"

"I think you forget your position. While you are a valuable informant I can always find someone else more willing to cough up the same information you have." That may not have been entirely true, but he was tired of Mr Sanguini's 'side businesses' making an appearance every meeting. It repulsed him and more than likely, Mr Sanguini's generosity stemmed from a desire to have leverage on a very useful pawn than any twisted host duty he might have had. Fortunately, the little threat Leon made would scare the man from making future contraband offers, but without Leon having to worry about losing him as an informant; Mr Sanguini was paranoid about being targeted by dangerous organisations and was desperate to remain under the government's protection.

Mr Sanguini made some weak protests to the comment before Leon moved on.

"Cut the chit chat and let's get to it. The lead you gave me was good, but it's not enough. What more can you tell me about this new terrorist group? You told me last time they were planning something, what, when and where?"

"Actually, they're moving a lot sooner than I thought. A week from today they'll be shipping something into town. I don't know the exact contents, but keeping in mind their current activities, I think it's safe to say it's not going to be anything pretty. I will just have to confirm the exact time and which dock."

"Is that all? What about the quantity being shipped; the number of guards; what their defence is like?"

"So professional, don't you ever think about having some fun sometimes? I insist you enjoy some of the 'exotic fruits' I have to offer you…" however, a glare from Leon silenced him on that topic and he continued on his original track, "Tsk, tsk. A young man like you should be enjoying his youth...well, they'll be keeping things as low-key as possible. I know they have a considerable arson of weapons now available to them, but they'd prefer not to attract too much of the wrong attention, especially since they're already in the authorities' black books. You should expect mostly low-powered firearms/handguns with a few men with more heavy artillery guarding the shipment on the container. But, if you're stealthy I shouldn't say that you'll have to worry about that. Also, I suppose I should warn you, they normally have civilians mixed in with their normal group members. I think that should answer all of your questions, Mr Kennedy?"

"That should do. I'll be in contact," he said and stood up.

...

"Come on you've been moping around the past couple of days, whatever's the matter with you Angela?"

"Nothing, really I'm fine, it's probably just the weather getting me down." Angela tried to smile reassuringly, but she had been incredibly despondent since she realised that tomorrow would mark Curtis' 36th birthday. She had wanted to celebrate it, bake a little cake and blow out the candles for him, but the thought of it was painful. Not only that, but she'd probably have to explain everything to Melissa, since the two of them spent most days in each other's company. She had thought that she was finally able to move on, but she wasn't ready to talk about it to Melissa; there were just so many old emotions that were dredged up with the thought of the past.

Melissa didn't seem convinced, but Angela was relieved when she let it go and said, "Fine, then I guess all you need, is to get out of the house and get some exercise. So get dressed, we're going clubbing and no buts; think of it as your apology for ditching me last night." Melissa smirked and walked off to open a bottle of port wine.

Angela sighed; Melissa wasn't going to let that go. Well she wasn't surprised, after all Melissa had reminded her at work before they left and when she had been dropped off. Melissa had especially wanted to try out a new restaurant that had opened and so had planned to drag her along as well; reservations had been made and they had planned to meet at the restaurant. Angela had just been so preoccupied by thoughts of her brother – and ashamedly Leon as well – though, that she had lost track of everything as she sat soaking in the bath. When she realised the time and called Melissa to apologise, she had been quite upset since she couldn't get in contact with Angela. While it was awkward leaving the restaurant after she had already sat down, Melissa had been more worried about Angela's safety.

Her current misery over her broken family weighed heavily on her, driving her to distraction when she was alone, like at her apartment which now gave her the creeps occasionally thanks to Melissa. Dreams of starting her own family would flit through her mind, often with Leon by her side, but she was afraid that she would lose them too like Curtis had. She knew both those thoughts were ridiculous; the chances of her seeing Leon again were slim and the possibilities of them being able to have a family together slimmer. Not to mention it was kind of crazy - she knew they'd made a connection 6 months ago during that incident at Harvardville, but having a family with a man she knew nothing about was absolutely insane. That didn't even take into account that Leon may not even feel that deeply for her, if he had, then wouldn't he have made some attempt to contact her? Plus, Curtis wouldn't allow...Curtis wouldn't have allowed her to be with Leon. She could almost hear his voice telling her 'Leon wouldn't be suitable husband or father material'. Angela quickly snapped out of her thoughts as something red was thrown her way.

"Wear that. You'll be so distracted by all the attention you'll be receiving you won't have time to mope," said Melissa smirking before she walked off to put on her shoes.

Angela lifted up the garment to see it was a dress. Even though Melissa didn't know what the problem was, she was obviously trying to help by distracting her from it. That tactic might work on occasions like this, but Angela was getting afraid that the problem would continue to escalate till she became distracted on the field; she absolutely could not risk that, not when there were lives on the line. She was normally able to avoid such thoughts troubling her at work since she was usually kept busy, but with the MFE making a move next week, she had to be on the top of her game; Rick had to take her claims seriously and allow their team to take action if there was to be any progress on that front. For the moment she tried to lock away her emotions and went into autopilot mode; she didn't want to offend Melissa by being a wet blanket after yesterday's incident. Getting up she decided that even if it was painful she'd put on a brave face for Melissa. In the short time that they'd known each other she had been a true friend, providing strength and a source of distraction. 'Leon,' she whispered his name to herself, 'I may have lost most hope of seeing you again, but how I still long to feel your arms around me.'


	10. Chapter 11 Demons Hunting Angels

A/N: Oh the horrors! My editor is still too busy to edit! Well, if there are any errors or anything, just drop a line and I'll just make changes later. As usual, please enjoy. Also, sorry we're not there yet and unfortunately, it'll probably take me a bit longer to get out the next chapter. On the bright side at least we have some excitement here? I didn't think the last section really warrants much of a warning, but I guess it implies...stuff. And, tra~la~la, I definitely recommend listening to Timbaland's 'Morning After Dark' for this chapter. BTW I'd be interested in your feedback on how well you think the songs fit. It'd be interesting to hear other people's take on that, since I had to think about the choice for this chapter for a bit. Oh and another bright side, longer chapter, YAY! Enjoy :P

Chapter 11 – Demons Hunting Angels

Angela sat at the bar nursing her drink while she waited for Melissa to return from the bathroom. It was tiring pretending that she had perked up and was enjoying herself, but at least Melissa had been somewhat convinced and knew she was trying. Angela looked over her shoulder and stared absently into the crowd of bodies in the club. This wasn't the way she wanted to celebrate her deceased brother's birthday, but considering the alternative – moping around her apartment, too distraught to actually celebrate it the way she wanted to in her heart – this was probably the better option. She rested her 'Sex on the beach' on the bar top; she wasn't planning on drinking much, but she enjoyed the creamy taste and warm blanketing effect of the drink on her thoughts. When she felt a brush against her hand she thought it was Melissa returned from the bathroom, but turning to the side revealed a rather thin greasy-looking man ogling her with shifty eyes. Pulling away, Angela was able to muster up enough awareness of the situation to give him a glare. Fortunately, Melissa came back and the two of them were able to intimidate the man until he left them alone.

"Damn, I know we're dressed skimpily, but we're not the only ones here like that. Guys like that creep should really learn when their company isn't wanted. Anyway, forget McCreepy, I love this song! Come dance with me Angie and skull that drink back already!"

Angela was helpless to resist and so she quickly drank the last of her drink and joined Melissa on the dance floor.

...

Melissa had been hurt when Angela had brushed her off earlier, but she'd guessed that it must have been pretty painful for her not to want to talk about it. She thought that by bringing Angela out she'd be distracted from whatever thoughts were plaguing her, but she could tell that she had just been putting up a strong front for her the entire night. Right now, however, something seemed...wrong. Angela looked physically fine, but she seemed too relaxed; her eyes were closed, like she had just lost herself to the music and it didn't seem like she was aware of anything else. It was too drastic a change from earlier and she'd only had a glass of wine at the apartment and that one drink at the bar. Had she perhaps taken some medication beforehand? Had she underestimated how upset Angela truly was? Whatever it was, she had to do something quick. She directed Angela to a secluded couch and covered her up with her coat so she wouldn't get cold or draw the wrong kind of attention.

Melissa didn't know what Angela had taken and didn't know what would happen if she didn't get her to the hospital soon. Unfortunately she didn't have her cellphone with her and Angela didn't have enough money on hers for them to call a cab, so she'd have to find some other way, which meant leaving her alone for a while. Melissa had to move fast, she didn't want to leave Angela alone too long in her vulnerable state. She'd tried asking some people near her whether she could use their phone, but they weren't too keen. It involved either her going out of their line of sight to find a quieter place or following her off the dance floor. Who'd have thought that they'd turn down the chance to be alone with a pretty woman! That aside, it meant tracking down the club's phone and she pushed her way to the bar, glancing back occasionally at Angela until she could no longer see her over the dancers' heads. It took her a while to get the bartender's attention and she also thought getting Angela some water might help dilute whatever she took. She finally got him to call a cab and she pushed her way back to where Angela was sitting. Melissa stopped dead in her tracks, however, when all she could see was her coat lying on the couch and no Angela in sight. Damn it! She should have dragged her along even though she was so unsteady on her feet; there was no telling what would happen to her if she didn't find her quick!

...

Angela was very confused. She'd only had two drinks, yet it felt like she'd had more than that. She was disorientated, her head felt fuzzy and her awareness of her surroundings was limited. What was wrong with her? She seemed to sense someone hovering nearby and looked up. A bit too quickly it seemed 'cause her vision blurred a bit.

"Why hello there Angel, I've been hunting for you for a very long time."

Angela slowly let her eyes focus on the male speaking to her. The light around the couch was surprisingly brighter than other areas of the club, but she would have been able to see his face a bit clearer if the room stopped moving. He was tall and lanky; had thin mid-length, brown greasy hair; and was wearing a Hawaiian t-shirt. Actually he looked just like that creep from the bar! Though, it confused her even more because he seemed to know her name. Did she know him from somewhere perhaps? She heard him chuckling at her confusion before he sat down next to her.

"Angel, you're just too yummy. I've been watching you for a while and you're a real feast for the eyes, that's for sure; I just wanna gobble you all up. By the way, I hope you enjoyed your drink," he said, winking in the process, "it was very provoking, 'Sex on the beach'. For an Angel you definitely know how to tempt like the devil."

His eyes raked over her body and even though she was covered she couldn't repress the shudder of disgust that went through her.

He laughed at her reaction, "Baby, when I'm done with you, I'll have you quivering for a very different reason. An angel like you will definitely be able to take me to heaven and back, but how about we take that sinful body of yours out for a test drive?" he said as he got up and slowly compelled Angela to get up with him.

She didn't quite know what was going on, she was sure she didn't know him and she didn't really want to dance with him, but she just didn't feel like putting up much of a fight. His arm snaked around her slender waist as he led her away from the couch and into the sea of dancing bodies.


	11. Chapter 12 On a Night Like This

A/N: Ye Gods! Will the horrors never cease! This is my THIRD chapter that hasn't been through my wonderful editor. Well, regardless please enjoy. I know people have (well if they've been following the story that is) been WAIIIITING for some more Leon, so here he is. Oh and I think I will keep recommending songs; I personally quite like doing that cause it sets a certain mood in my head that I'd like to convey in the scene. So I suggest you listen to Kylie Minogue's 'On a Night like This' (which the chapter is also named after, I started running out of ideas) and to a lesser extent Cheryl Cole's '3 Words'. I guess with the second song suggestion, it was more that I like the song and wanted to use it in the fic. I think the chapter fits the best with Kylie's song though. I may/may not be updating regularly from here on, since I'll be pretty busy with Uni. Not that people really care, but in case there are a few out there that do :P lol. Anyway, off to do baking!

Chapter 12 – On a Night like This

Leon made his way back into the club, pushing past the sweaty bodies with distaste. He may have once frequented a club like this before, but now his job made that almost impossible; he didn't have the time for it and when he did have any free time he would rather spend it recuperating from his strenuous missions. However, the image of a gorgeous brunette dancing seductively dancing popped up in his head and he mentally swatted it away. He found that he often thought of Angela when he came here and it worried him that he could get so distracted just because he thought he'd seen her here. His mind would even stray occasionally when talking to Mr Sanguini, though considering how 'charming' the man was, Leon was surprised he managed to tolerate him at all. His feelings for Angela troubled him even more, however; it confused him because he thought he loved Ada. He had to admit a special bond was made during the events in Harvardville, but was the short time that Angela and he spent together really enough to create this much of a craving for her? Even his feelings for Ada weren't quite this intense, but maybe it was also a matter of lust. Angela was an incredibly beautiful woman and he certainly wouldn't mind going to bed with her. He just really needed an explanation for what he felt because he couldn't believe his feelings could be so fickle. It would be much easier for his job and sanity if he could dismiss these feelings. He stopped suddenly; a nostalgic scent wafted towards him through the blanket of alcohol and perfume. 'Angela?'

It may have been stupid to look, but he didn't stop himself as his eyes roved over the bodies to see if he could find her. He couldn't see any woman fitting Angela's description and he was about to move on, slightly disappointed, but he swore he could smell her again. Swirling around, he finally did see her, and the sight of her wearing a red figure hugging dress that revealed too much for his own good was enough to knock him senseless. However, what he noticed next made him tense up with fury; she had her arms draped around the shoulders of some creep while he practically molested her! He shoved past a few dancers blocking his way to the man moronic enough to touch her in that manner before grabbing his shoulder and ripping him away from her. The man had been about to retaliate, but when he saw Leon, he very quickly cowered below his superior size. Leon wanted to teach him a lesson, but not wanting to make too big a scene settled for a subtle elbow jab to the gut as he turned around to Angela. It didn't seem like a lot of force was used, but it was enough to send the greasy man to his knees, winded and eyes wide full of shock.

Angela still hadn't seen him, but when she started to wobble a bit on her feet he quickly moved forward, grabbing her around her waist. He had a moment of déjà vu as he remembered a similar occurrence 6 months ago; when he'd saved her from falling to her death during their confrontation with the mutated Curtis. The difference this time was that she wasn't wearing that bulky uniform and he could feel just how perfectly her body fit against his. As she tried to right herself she turned her head around, just like the last time, to look up at her rescuer. It seemed she'd finally recognised him as her eyes grew wide and her lips curved into the most delicious smile he'd ever seen, one full of surprised happiness. She twisted herself around in his arms so they were face-to-face and threw her arms around his neck. She lost her balance, however, and he had to hold onto her to keep them both from falling over - not that he was complaining. What did concern him, though was why she was here and in this condition. However, thinking was becoming increasingly hard for him with Angela's body pressed up against his.

He couldn't resist for much longer; suddenly running into her, her body pressed so close, her scent - yes he could smell her through everything else – driving his olfactory senses crazy, he had to embrace her in return and let his emotions show through just this once. God, it felt amazing to be holding her like this! He could feel everything: her soft skin, voluptuous supple body, silky chestnut hair and it drove him wild. When her arms around his neck brought his head down so she could speak into his ear - something along the lines of it being good to see him again - he was mortified to admit that despite being an experienced government agent, he was finding it a bit hard to grasp much. It didn't help that her actions had given him a generous view of her ample bosom and thanks to the thin material of their clothing he could also feel them pressed up against his chest. When she started swaying and rubbing against him in time to the music, it took all his self-control to not devour her right there.

...

Angela was incredibly confused! What she did know, however, was that she actually felt amazing right now. Though it could have been a hallucination; after all she was having trouble remembering the events leading up to now and her mind felt a bit cloudy still. In the end, she decided she didn't care since, right now, being in Leon's strong arms felt correct. With the music pulsating in the background and Leon holding her, this moment was special. It evoked the same feelings as the other times that he'd saved her, like he would protect her no matter what, but it was also different. If he hadn't saved her on those other occasions, she would have probably died, but this time the feelings went deeper. Here there was no imminent threat except her despair and she had just needed some support to get over her brother. Then he showed up like a loyal knight, to protect her from the demons and hold her like nothing else mattered. Just his presence was enough to soothe her worries and it scared her that he had that much power over her emotions. Regardless, she just wanted to stay like this forever, but she felt so weightless suddenly and everything around her was spinning so fast they blurred. The darkness was closing in and she was falling further into it, "Leon..." she started before she succumbed completely.

...

Melissa was really worried; if some creepy guy had picked Angela up in her current state...she didn't even want to think about what could happen to her. She was having a hard time finding Angela in the crowd of bodies and a sinking thought occurred to her. What if someone had taken her out of the club already? Melissa got desperate and jumped onto the dance stage to get a better view of the dance floor when she spotted the creep from earlier; he stood out quite a bit with that garish Hawaiian shirt of his. It was then she spotted Angela with him and things started to click into place. That b****** must have drugged her! She should have known it wasn't like Angela to mix drugs and booze. Seeing that pervert's hands groping Angela everywhere made her furious, she was going to castrate him once she got there. Though, the problem was getting there before she lost sight of them. She was about to hop off the stage when she noticed another man walking up to them and yank Mr Hawaiian-shirt-pervert away from Angela. She was shocked; the look on that other man's face was absolutely murderous! She was just as surprised seeing Angela practically leap into his arms when she saw his face; the two of them definitely looked like they had some serious history. Melissa watched the pair a bit longer, it was actually nice to see them together; they looked so happy (maybe that was because Angela was drugged up). Though, it was even funnier to see the man look like he was a deer caught in the headlights when Angela had pressed her chest harder against him. She chuckled to herself; he must be the good sort then, not like that pervert who was taking advantage of her body. Anyway, now that Angela was safe from said perverts it was probably best if they headed home. There wasn't much they could really do except keep her hydrated until the drug got out of her system, and unfortunately, since she had no proof that the other man had spiked Angela's drink they would have to leave him alone. For now, Melissa was just happy that nothing bad had happened to her.


	12. Chapter 13 Stay Awhile

Okily Dokily. There's a quick note on my profile about my fic. I recommend listening to Starsailor's song 'Fidelity'. It probably doesn't fit so well during the first scene, but I think the tone of the music fits the last bit with Leon really well. I really struggled to find a song that fit this chapter well. Perhaps two songs might be needed. Who knows? I'd be interested in suggestions though, since I could use them for inspiration when writing the other chapters.

BTW hopefully the following chapters will be a bit faster paced and things will be getting R-18. LOL. No seriously. It's going to be really embarrassing for me to write, but Ima do some lovey dovey scenes soon. Tips anyone? For things you don't/do want to see/read? Or even tips to get over the embarrassment of writing it :s

Chapter 13 – Stay Awhile

Leon had started carrying Angela to the couches he'd spotted in the corner, but it was difficult since he couldn't pick her up in the crowded club. Honestly, he was disappointed in himself for forgetting the state he'd found her in. He'd just been so distracted that he failed to make sure she was okay first. Though, the problem was figuring out why she'd fainted; he was sure she wasn't drunk since he couldn't smell any alcohol on her breath, nor did she seem the type to drink herself to oblivion. Perhaps she was drugged? He was surprised out of his musings, however, when a tall blonde got on the other side of Angela to help him. Nodding in acknowledgement to her, they managed to get through the mass of people and to the couches. With Angela settled on the couch Leon turned to the blonde woman to thank her for her help.

"I'm the one who should be thanking you; Angela's my friend. She disappeared on me and when I couldn't find her I was in a real panic. She was in no condition to be up and about, but it's a good thing you found her before that creep in the Hawaiian shirt did something more to her."

"Something...more?" Leon's tone was grave. What had the man already done to Angela?

"Well, I don't have proof, but I'm 100% certain that he drugged her drink. I can't do much about him and we can't do much for Angela either. We can just keep her hydrated and make sure she doesn't get too hot, but that first bit might be a little hard with her passed out."

Leon's jaw clenched as he thought of how lightly the man had gotten off. If he had known what he'd done...anyway his main priority right now was seeing to Angela. "We might be able to rouse her long enough to get some water in her."

"Well, here's the water, but I'm not sure how successful you'll be with waking her up. It really depends on what he used on her. I'm Melissa by the way."

"Leon Kennedy."

"Umm...Do you...by any chance know Angela? From before today that is. You guys seemed to know each other."

"We did a mission together a while back," Leon stated abruptly since he couldn't really say much else than that. A few shakes managed to wake Angela into consciousness, but she was still too confused to take any water on her own. Taking a swig from the bottled water, Leon had brought their lips together and fed the water to her. It went down without her choking on any of it, though Melissa seemed to choke on her own surprise as she stared wide-eyed. He guessed the gesture seemed a bit intimate and forward for people who had just done a simple mission together, but that's only because he hadn't provided her with any other information. "We should probably get her out of here now. Do either of you live nearby? I can give you a hand, since it might be a bit hard for you to get her back alone."

"Angela's apartment is closer, we can go there. It's only a short walk, so with you helping there shouldn't be any need for a taxi."

Leon nodded and they both took a hold of Angela and got her out of the club. Being impractical to drag her, Leon picked Angela up while Melissa led the way to the apartment. He gazed at her sleeping face as he held her and was glad that he had listened to his gut and looked for her. He knew what would have happened if she was still in that man's company and the thought made him furious. To see this strong beautiful woman be taken advantage of or hurt was something he never wanted to have to face again.

...

Leon had laid Angela on her bed and looked her over more carefully. She looked a mess; her hair was tangled, her makeup smudged and yet she still seemed to glow. He shook his head; it couldn't be love that made him think she still looked beautiful in her state. He still wasn't sure about his feelings, for both women, but he'd have to wait until he had time to figure it all out. He still had to worry about this new group that posed a threat at the moment and he didn't have the time for personal matters to interfere. He brushed some hair out of her face and was about to leave when Angela grabbed his hand.

"Where's Curtis? I still haven't wished him happy birthday yet."

Her words had struck a chord with him; poor used Curtis who had been turned into a monster and tried to attack his own sister. So it was his birthday today, or recently at least. Had that been the catalyst for tonight's events? That depraved worm must have sensed she was troubled and targeted her. He wasn't too sure what to tell her, but he couldn't tell her the truth, not since she was already so confused. He rested his hand against her cheek as he answered her, "He went home early. You'll see him again sometime, so don't worry. You can rest easy tonight."

"I'm so tired. I guess I'll wish him later…" Angela's words got quieter and very soon she was fast asleep again.

Leon bent down and kissed her forehead. Maybe what he felt for her was more than lust, but he was still unwilling to admit he loved her and perhaps he had to rethink his feelings for Ada. He turned around and saw Melissa standing in the doorway looking confused.

"Who's Curtis?" she asked as they made their way out into the passageway.

"He's her brother. He…passed away last year."

"That's terrible, but that might explain her mood these past couple of days. I wish she had told me. If I had known what was going through her head I wouldn't have dragged her out and tonight could have been avoided."

"It's only been several months since he died. I think maybe it was still too soon for her to face his death again." Leon felt like scum, but deep down inside there was a part of him that was secretly glad for the way things had unfolded. If she hadn't gone to the club tonight he might never have seen her again. Fortunately, for her sake even though things could have gone very wrong when she was drugged, she wouldn't remember seeing him tonight. It meant that he could make an exit without upsetting her further and if he really wanted, he now knew where she lived.

There was an awkward silence as Leon lingered, unwilling to leave Angela so soon, yet unwilling to reveal anything more to Melissa.

"Um...Thanks again for your help. I wasn't too sure that I would have gotten to Angela in time, plus the jab to the gut you gave that guy looked pretty painful."

"That's no problem, he deserved more though. Anyway, I've stayed here too long already. She'll be fine since she has you looking after her, so I had better get going...actually could you do me a favour? Don't mention that I was here. I don't want to upset her when she's grieving."

"Alright, but if you don't already know, she feels something for you. She may have been drugged up, but I saw the two of you dancing; you guys look great together."

"Being with me would only end in her getting hurt and she deserves more than that. Take care of her and if you ever see that guy again, make sure he gets what's coming to him."

"I will." Melissa wanted to add, 'do you want her to become a lonely old spinster, since she won't fall in love with someone else', but she doubted it would make a difference. She let the door shut behind him and went back to the room to take care of Angela; she was going to be very confused in the morning.

...

Leon looked back at her door once more before walking away; he realised this was the second time he'd be leaving her when she was vulnerable, but it was for the best. He'd only bring up old memories and feelings which she probably didn't want to deal with right now. Hopefully her distraction would be temporary and not interfere with her work. She was good at her job and he didn't want something like this to hinder what came naturally to her, saving others. It was rare to find people who would forget about themselves to save another and it made him realise how special she was. Now that he knew she was here, it was more tempting than ever to try to see her again. He knew he shouldn't, not if he cared for her, it was one of the reasons why he stayed away in the first place; his work was hazardous and if something happened to him, he couldn't stomach the thought of hurting her. Resigned to his fate, he walked out the building, thankful for this last chance to be close to her again.


	13. Chapter 14

Yay! Chapter! With actual Leon and Angela stuff! Hasn't been edited completely, I'm a bit busy with my assignment so if there are any mistakes just drop a line (btw it's edited to New Zealand English, not American, so differences in spelling like 'colour' are because of that and aren't necessarily wrong :P). Definitely listen to Michael Jackson's 'Break of Dawn'. I love everything about this song; the music and lyrics are really sexy and groovy and I think totally fit in with this chapter. It would be interesting to hear other suggestions though :P Also, I'm going to be pretty busy from here on with studies, so I'm not sure whether I'll be posting more chapters any time soon , but good things take time and I assure you the following chapters will be worth waiting for Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 14 – Is That a Hangover Or Are You Just Unhappy To See Me?

Angela gasped as Leon's calloused hands skimmed the sensitive flesh of her breasts and his lips traced over her collarbone. His teasing feather light touches were torturous, sending surges of pleasure through her body, but never satisfying. She writhed beneath him, begging for more, but he wouldn't give in. He was deriving too much pleasure from exploring her body to end it just yet. He could feel her soft skin heat up as his hands stroked her inner thighs and it thrilled him to see this strong woman yield to him so freely, to hear her moaning his name for more. He wanted to be the only man whose name she called out like that. The thought of anyone else experiencing her like this made him jealous and he roughly clutched her breast as he lightly bit her neck to mark her as his.

...

Angela bit her lip in frustration; Leon's hand was so close, but he wouldn't free her from the tension she felt. She tried to urge his hand closer, but he suddenly grabbed her breast and she felt him bite her neck. She cried out in surprise as she felt the stinging pain, but it only excited her. Her neck continued to tingle as the warmth spread further through her body. He captured her lips in a rough kiss and she responded by she twisting her fingers into the soft hairs at the nape of his neck to pull him closer. She sighed as Leon's lips moved to her neck, then between the valley of her chest and then to her stomach. He didn't move further south, but without his teasing touches Angela was content to just feel him. She felt so full of adoration and she reached her hand down to stroke his jaw. Bringing his face back up towards him, she kissed him tenderly and rested her cheek against his as she whispered how much she felt for him.

They looked at each other and their lips were about to meet when there was a beeping sound. Leon got up with a start and looked around. He was in his apartment, alone, and his cellphone was ringing. Damn his imagination! It had felt so good that now he was feeling …uncomfortable. His very realistic dream had resulted in a bit of a problem which he would have to remedy with a very, very cold shower. Answering his phone, he recognised Mr Sanguini's right hand man's voice. "What do you have for me?"

"The shipment will be arriving at Herford dock at 10pm on the 15th."

"Mr Sanguini made it seem like he wouldn't be getting those details for a while. How can I trust this information as accurate?"

"Mr Sanguini apologises for not informing you of these details at your meeting last night, but he had to confirm it before he could pass it on to you. He sends his regards and hopes to continue to do business with you in future."

The line went dead on the other end and Leon slumped back into bed. He'd had dreams about Angela before, but none had been as vivid as the one he'd just had. It must have been because he had seen her last night and had felt her luscious skin beneath his fingertips, felt her sinuous body rubbing up against his…damn it! He really needed that cold shower right now.

...

Angela bolted upright as she was awoken from her dream by a knock at her door. When she saw Melissa walk in with some orange juice and toast she was mildly disappointed. After her dream she had half been expecting Leon to come through, but that was impossible since she hadn't seen him since Harvardville. Suddenly she had a moment of fear. Why couldn't she remember what happened last night? "Melissa, I...I can't remember anything from last night! I only had one drink, what happened?"

"Well Missy, next time keep an eye on your drink if I'm not around to look out for you. That creep that was coming onto you at the bar, in the Hawaiian t-shirt, drugged you. It must have happened when I was in the bathroom, because if I had seen him in the act I would have pounded him. Seriously, next time don't get distracted for a moment Angela! I was so worried since you've been acting strange these past few days and then I couldn't find you afterwards."

"...Well I admit I have been a bit down these past few days; it's just family issues that I was a bit preoccupied with. I should be fine now that I've had some time to get over it, but thank god you found me in time. I can't believe I was so distracted that I didn't notice my drink getting spiked. It makes my skin crawl to think that I could have been another rape victim." Angela also shuddered as she thought back to that man at the bar and imagined the things he could have done to her while she was helpless. "Thank you Melissa, for looking out for me...and thanks for making me breakfast. It looks great, but aren't you going to have any as well?"

Melissa felt mildly guilty, since it wasn't her who had found her and she couldn't tell her about Leon, whom Angela obviously had feelings for. Melissa pushed those thoughts to the side though and decided to just have breakfast with her friend. They would worry about other stuff later, when they needed to.


	14. Chapter 15 Lurking on the Horizon

So, I've been avoiding updating even though I really wanted to (I feel guilty when I have loads of assignments due especially since it's the end of my last semester as under-grad, yays!), but I couldn't resist for much longer. Okay, that and I needed something other than my studies to get over...a person. ".com/#/d305r25" that there expresses some of my frustration...but I'll stop advertising myself now and on with the story. BTW, I don't really have a song for the new chapter, but I don't think it needs one. Hopefully, you guys have found that things are picking up the pace a bit, but yet again I'm not sure when I'll have the time to write the next chapter. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 15 – Lurking on the Horizon

Fortunately there didn't seem to be any lasting side-effects from the drug used on Angela and she was able to go to work the next day. Though, Angela had been wondering about a few things that didn't add up about the night before. "Melissa?"

"Yeah?"

They were the only ones in the debriefing room at the moment, but it would be filling up with their teammates before the meeting started. "I've been thinking about the other night...how did you manage to get me back to my apartment and shouldn't you have taken me to the hospital since you didn't know what I'd been drugged with?"

Melissa tensed up. It seemed like she didn't want to answer either of her questions and she started having second thoughts about bringing it up. She was just curious since Melissa always seemed to do the right thing in the worst situations; it seemed out of character that she'd overlook something serious like not taking her to a hospital after she'd been drugged. Before the silence could get too awkward some of their other teammates walked in and it seemed to cue the end of that conversation. Angela was just thankful that nothing bad had happened to her and Melissa had been there to look out for her. With that in mind she dropped the subject and decided she wouldn't bring it up again, after all it didn't matter anymore. Right now, she had to focus on work; if she was correct, then this debriefing would be about the tip she told Rick about. She had been worried that he wouldn't take the threat from MFE seriously, but it was possible he had investigated the matter and was satisfied enough to prep the team.

Gavin, their second in command, walked in as all the members had seated themselves. "Now, as you all know Rick's out of town until tomorrow, but this issue is pretty urgent, so he wanted me to debrief you all as soon as possible."

Unfortunately, poor Gavin was quickly interrupted by his team members, yelling out 'like hell we knew he was out of town! What's this matter so urgent 'bout he had a young filly like you talk about it!" Being one of the youngest members to be promoted had its drawbacks, but the whole team respected Gavin. He was definitely one of the best officers they had, but they couldn't help having a bit of fun at his expense on occasion.

"Well, now that you do know, we can move onto more important things," said Gavin un-phased. "We've received a tip from a pretty reliable source about some suspicious business going on at the wharf. Normally the police might have been able to handle a situation like this, but we're dealing with a particularly volatile group. They're known as 'Mankind for Evolution' and even though they haven't caused any serious problems in the past, it seems they've gotten serious. They may have teamed up with someone else and it is highly likely that they've managed to get a hold of some dangerous materials...I should tell you guys now, that it's possible that this stuff may be the T-virus that was in the media several months ago." The room erupted in noise and everyone tried to process the information.

Gavin managed to get them to quieten down before moving on, "This may seem like a wild goose chase, but further investigations into the matter revealed more about the situation. They've recently come into a lot of cash and 'other assets', but the most serious thing is the group's new alliance with one of our close friends, Mr Ray Samvel."

Melissa realised that Angela probably didn't know who he was and so quickly explained as the room once again got noisy, "He's a notorious drug dealer on this strip of coast. Deals with a small clientele, but has connections all over the world with some pretty important people. We've been trying to get him for years since he did a number on some of our guys."

"Anyway, we got word that he's been searching for someone to supply him with a T-virus antidote. Since TRICELL took over WilPharma and halted its production there have been increases in demand for the antidote on the black market, but Samvel hasn't expressed any interest in it before this. This coupled with MFE's recent movements has given us sufficient reason to pursue these guys. Right now, they're expecting a shipment in on the 15th, sometime after 9pm, though we don't know what time exactly. They'll probably be armed and they could be handling T-virus samples. Their numbers are pretty low, but they'll also be using civilians too. You'll be equipped with rubber bullets for the civilians and your normal guns should the need arise. Any questions?"

Sergei, one of the most experienced men in their team, had some doubts about the mission which he voiced, "Yeah, if this is such a serious case, with the T-virus and all, why ain't there more serious contenders involved, like the military and the like?"

"Sorry guys, but the superiors don't have to explain their actions to us. All I can think of is that they're not willing to deploy them because those higher ups don't think it's quite as serious as that yet or don't feel like footing the bill. Or I guess they think we're good enough to handle them on our own, unless you're not man enough for the job Sergei?" It was Gavin's turn to poke a bit of fun at his team, but it was probably more to lighten the mood. Nobody wanted to think about having to deal with that virus, not after the horror stories of Raccoon City and Harvardville. It was also very likely that none of the others apart from Angela were vaccinated against it and nobody wanted to turn into one of those zombies, no matter how low the risk of infection was.

As they all left the debriefing room, Angela was glad that no one asked her any questions about the mission. They all knew she was from Harvardville and had dealt with the outbreak, but it seemed they'd either forgotten or were avoiding mentioning it knowing she'd lost a close teammate. However, the mention of Ray Samvel was interesting news to her. A drug lord with global connections looking for a T-virus antidote definitely spelt fishy business. She was just glad she had decided to tell Rick about MFE 'cause Samvel provided another lead in her investigations. She hadn't known about him before, but hopefully he might lead her to some promising evidence. However, Angela soon noticed a tense silence between the two of them. Melissa had seemed oddly quiet about her earlier questions so she decided she'd break the silence instead about her thoughts about the debrief, "I'm glad Rick took us seriously; do you think that's where he is now? Investigating MFE or Samvel? I hope he's got some good connections since from the sounds of it, things could be heating up soon, so the sooner we get some good info, the better."

Melissa seemed relieved that Angela hadn't brought up their earlier topic and replied, "You mean, took 'you' seriously. It was all you babe, though I'm surprised he took off so abruptly without a word to us, though being in his position means he doesn't really have to answer to any of us. Anyway, I doubt that he's personally investigating the matter, he must be doing something else...T-virus aye? I guess I knew what I was getting into, but well hearing it officially just makes it all the worse. Doesn't help that I have a bad feeling about this, but that could just be my stomach talking. Let's go grab something to eat, no use thinking about such heavy things on an empty stomach!"

As Melissa dragged Angela to grab some lunch, she struggled to stop her mind from delving into dark thoughts. They really didn't have a proper clue as to what they were getting into; nobody had really encountered MFE after their 'upgrades' which put them at risk of underestimating them. Not to mention the risk of an outbreak weighed heavily on her mind, she didn't want to face another Harvardville and it would break her heart if something happened to Melissa or any of her other teammates. And of course, there was Leon. She didn't want to think about him too much; as it was the current situation had enough similarities to the previous incident to make her feel a sense of déjà vu. She yearned for him, and hoped that once again he would turn up. But then again maybe it was best if he didn't. Her feelings for him felt like an addiction that could completely consume her if she wasn't careful and she had no choice but to get over him and keep living her life. For now, knowing that she was the only vaccinated member, she would make sure that every one of her teammates got through the upcoming mission safely, or in the very least uninfected. She would do her best, after all she owed it to Greg, her brother and all those other victims to make sure that shipment didn't land in the wrong hands.


	15. Chapter 16 In the Dark

Heyo! Long time no write aye? Well I was really happy to be able to get back into this fic since for a while there I kinda lost the feeling I needed when writing this. Things are still crazy I spent the two months helping my mum cook and clean in preparation for Christmas and New Year. Had the whole family here plus my brother's girlfriend's family so there were a lot of people. Also, I'm two months behind in my extramural paper, which is all this economy mumbo jumbo, so I'm not much of a happy chappy , but I am happy about going through, editing some of the previous chapters a bit and getting this one out as well. I can't wait to get some more chapters out now! Anyway, I've never been one to really listen to lyrics, so I don't know how well this song goes with the chapter, but sound wise I really liked it so I highly recommend listening to The Perfect Circle's 'The Outsider'.

Chapter 16 – In the dark

"This is Charlie One; visual contact of the target is confirmed."

Angela heard the team leader in Melissa's group over the headsets. The cargo ship had landed in the docks and would soon be secured. Telling her team of three to be alert, they moved into their secondary position as the ship came into sight. There looked to be about thirty men at the dock: several were inside the warehouse; some operating machinery to unload the containers from the ship and onto awaiting trucks; while most of the others seemed to be doing menial tasks about the place, probably MFE's men keeping an eye out for trouble. One of the guys pulled his jacket to the side to pull out a cigarette, briefly flashing his handgun. "This is Alpha One; we have confirmation that the men are armed, but exercise extreme caution - some of them are civilians."

With that, the three teams received their orders and moved in on their target. They moved stealthily, taking out a few stragglers silently and disarming a few others. They would ambush the group, however, only when all the containers were safely off the ship and then round up all the men. So far things were going smoothly, having taken out a few of their men and noticing they only had small firearms.

Angela and her group spanned out a bit, they were on the larger more secluded side and it looked like there weren't too many of the men on their side. The rest of her team moved further towards the ship and took up their positions. Keeping an eye out for any movement she noticed a man with his hood up coming from the back of the building not far from her. She couldn't afford to let him find her team and she moved towards him quickly ready to take him out.

Grabbing the man by surprise, she managed to get him to his knees, the plan being to knock him out. However, after the initial shock the man sprung into action and knocked her onto her back, extracting a soft grunt from her as she hit the concrete. It was dark, but Angela could make out his silhouette standing up quickly, ready to take her out. Her options were limited; her rubber gun had fallen out of reach, she couldn't use real bullets on him because he could have been a civilian and the noise from her firearm would alert the other men on the dock. He didn't seem armed, however, so she assumed that she could take him out without having to worry about getting shot. She kicked his feet out from under him and rolled away as he fell down. Unfortunately, she didn't manage to get out of reach and the man grabbed her before she could activate her headset to call for back up.

They kicked and punched each other a few times before he got Angela in the gut winding her a bit. She gasped as her body slackened a bit giving him enough time to grab her hands and restrain them above her head as his body pinned her down. A gunshot rang out loud in the silence before all hell soon broke loose.

...

Leon skulked around the warehouse unnoticed. He was pretending to be one of the other civilian men helping out, but the men from MFE were way too trusting, or arrogant or just plain stupid. He'd have thought they had a record of who was supposed to be there, but nobody had paid him much heed. He knew there were some pretty intelligent people in this group, but none of them seemed to be here. Guess they believe in natural selection too; let all the idiots do the dangerous dirty work. But he wasn't complaining, it made his job infiltrating their operation here tonight easier. From what he could tell, there seemed to be around twenty men from MFE and the rest were civilians. The warehouse was clean, but there were a few containers which looked like they would be trucked out with the new ones coming tonight. Unfortunately, there were too many men around to get a chance to take a look at what the containers held, but hopefully he would be able to find out about the ones coming off the ship.

Leon remembered seeing the guy in charge move towards the other end of the warehouse, towards a small room that acted like an office. Moving unseen, he could hear part of a conversation; the man must've been on the phone since he could only hear him.

"Yeah, it just came in; I had a look around just to make sure. Mr Samvel's merchandise looks good, better than what I was expecting...Yes... I've had an update from the other group as well. Things are going smoothly down their end as well, probably because we never told them what they were moving. Hah! Poor buggers, they'd be s****** their pants if they knew what they were handling...yeah we'll be joining up on route 77 tomorrow. By that time we would have equipped our men with their new toys and should be ready to carry out your plan...Definitely...I'm looking forward to the experiments. If they're successful, we'll finally be achieving our dreams...yes...yes sir...yes we've found the other target, but the situation is a bit too complicated at present to make a move on it...yes"

The man hung up and Leon quickly made his way out the back before he was seen. He may not have heard that much, but it was definitely something and something potentially big. From the sounds of it, what was being transported at this dock wasn't the virus. But then what was the other group handling...it could have been the virus, but surely MFE didn't believe that mankind's future lay in turning everyone into mindless zombies. After all, they did mention they would achieve their dreams with certain experiments. Perhaps it was a different sort of virus or mutagen; that must be it because it sounded like they were about to start doing some tests and experiments once they received the other shipment. The problem now was to intercept the other trucks and found out what was on them. Also, what was the other target they were talking about? Leon's thoughts didn't go further as he was suddenly hit from behind.


	16. Chapter 17 To any Depths

Siiiigh, I really am being bad in terms of not doing my course and writing this fic instead, but I just rediscovered how much I like my plot! Plus it's preferable to what I have to do...damn economy, don't understand a word of the gibberish. Anyway, another particularly hard chapter to find a song for, but the best I could come up with is 'The host of seraphim' from the 'Vexille' soundtrack. It's that serious eerie, mourning type of music (well it sounds like that to me). Anyway, probably a lot of mistakes in here, but I'll fix them up and make them flow a bit better later, when I can look at it without thinking that it's my work. Cause it's hard to pick up mistakes in your own work sometimes. Enjoy!

Chapter 17 – To any depths

Leon fell to his knees, shocked for a moment from the blow before he quickly acted and knocked his assailant to the ground. They tussled for a while until a particularly hard punch connected with his attacker's gut and winded them. A particularly feminine gasp was expelled before her body slackened enough for him to pin her down with his body and restrain her hands above her head. Suddenly a gunshot rang clear in the night.

"Alpha three is down, Alpha three is down. Engage the enemy!"

Angela could hear the shouting over the headset but she couldn't do anything under this guy. "S***! You're obstructing an S.R.T. member from her duties, get off me!" She yelled before kneeing him in the crotch.

The man groaned and slid off her. She was about to knock him out when Leon spoke "Angela, it's me."

Angela was shocked motionless. Did she really hear his voice correctly? Could it really be Leon? "Leon?" she said stretching out her hand slowly to help him to his feet.

"Yeah, you know we could have killed each other. Not to mention you kicked my ass pretty good," he said, slowly getting up with Angela's help.

More orders were barked over the headset and Angela was snapped back to reality. Now was not the time for her to be blinded by her emotions. The rookie had just been shot and the rest of her teammates were out there. She promised herself she'd do her best to bring them all back alive and that was just what she was gonna do. "Leon, sorry about...the um...knee, but my teammate is injured. I have to go. It's best if you don't get mixed in there, if you're carrying a firearm you might get mistaken for an MFE member."

Despite the throbbing pain Leon felt, he managed to muster a small smile. Angela, him, this place; talk about coincidence. Though, they were both lucky that they hadn't killed each other back then. They'd both had firearms, but had decided not to use them. But Angela was right; they didn't have time for a touching reunion, she had to go help her team and he needed to do his job too. "It's okay Angela. Just get back to your teammates and inform them that there's a government agent here as well. And don't worry about me; I'll be fine so long as you don't shoot me." He said smiling at her before she ran to help her team.

Leon paused for a moment before he decided to jump into the fray. He needed to give his body and mind a moment for the shock to wear off. He'd gotten a bit of information from the conversation he'd overheard, but he had been planning on hijacking one of the trucks that would meet up with the other group to discover what they were transporting. However, he wasn't sure for what particular reason Angela and her team was here for, but they certainly put a spanner in that plan. Even if some guys managed to make it away, it was unlikely they'd meet up with the rest of their group which means he wasn't going to find out what was in those other trucks any time soon. It couldn't be helped though; he probably should have coordinated with them as well, just as backup in case something had gone sour while he was trying to infiltrate their operation. Instead this was the outcome, but he didn't have time for any more musings, he'd recovered enough to make his way towards the conflict and he did so, briefly remembering his body over hers before he swatted the thought out of his mind.

...

As Angela raced to help her team she couldn't help letting her thoughts stray briefly to Leon. She didn't expect to see him this early in her investigations, but it just meant that she was on the right track. It was likely that Leon was here to investigate something related to the T-virus which mean she'd probably run into him again. That thought was one of the few reasons that she was able to leave him standing there as easily as she had. After feeling the weight of his body on hers and the warmth of his hand, it had been hard fighting her body's reaction to him. Fortunately, the shouting over the headset was enough to snap her out of her trance. Reaching the scene she realised that things were not going well. Though they had only found pistols on the men, it seemed the containers held some pretty heavy weaponry which was now being used against her team. Things were getting pretty chaotic; she didn't know where the civilians were, but it was possible they had escaped before things had gotten too serious. However, the remaining MFE members were getting jumpy; they were shooting in wanton abandon since their numbers had dwindled considerably since the start.

Several of their own members had been injured, the rookie on her team included, but it looked like the MFE men were letting up with the barrage of bullets. Angela could hear Sergei yelling at them, "Put down your guns and put your hands in the air. I repeat put down your guns and put your hands in the air." They had let up with the gunfire and it seemed like they were thinking it over. Some of the team members made their way over towards the MFE in the hopes of disarming them and ending this fight. In the meantime Angela and some others made their way over to the injured to help move them away from the skirmish. Suddenly gunshots broke out again as the MFE men realised that some of their officers were making their way towards them.

Melissa met up with Angela quickly and gave her a quick pat on the back, "Good to see you're still fine and dandy girl. Who'd have thought the b******* would have given us this much trouble." Some shots came their way and they took cover behind a truck.

"I guess we did underestimate them, but at least none of our guys have sustained any serious wounds." Angela replied distractedly, looking around for signs of Leon.

"Angela...I don't think now's the time to really space out..."

"Sorry, I'm just a bit worried; remember I said there was a government agent here as well? Well I'm just not sure where he is."

"I'm sure he can take care of himself honey, he's a big boy. Right now, we've got these idiots to worry about shooting us new breathing holes."

"Sorry, you're right. Now then, let's go show our friends how we girls do it in the S.R.T." Angela replied with smile.

Angela and Melissa ran and took cover behind one of the cranes and opened fire on the men. Their foes were surprised when one of them was hit and another clipped in the arm. Unfortunately, it seemed like they were unwilling to surrender despite being outnumbered. Melissa and Angela were prepared to move when suddenly she could hear the others yelling over the headset, "Take cover! They've got RPGs!" They were practically sitting ducks though. Angela and Melissa ran for it, but didn't escape unscathed. The RPG hurtled towards the crane they were behind, the explosion sending them flying towards the dock and plunging into the water.

Angela swam to the top, spluttering as she broke the surface. She looked around for Melissa, spotting her struggling in the water, illuminated by the lights on the dock. Melissa was an excellent swimmer, so she must have been injured by the blast that sent them flying into the water. Diving under Angela grabbed Melissa and they broke the surface together. As Melissa gasped for air Angela helped her reach the dock edge; it would have been impossible for them to get back up without help, but luckily Melissa noticed some ropes hanging down a bit further away from them. They could still hear gunfire and they were anxious for their team's safety. Quickly struggling up the ropes Angela managed to help Melissa up first and as she started hoisting herself up on the edge, another explosion occurred not too far from them.

Angela looked up just in time to see some debris flying towards them yet again, but she didn't have time to avoid the wreckage hurtling towards her head. The force of the fragment hitting her was enough to knock her helmet off her head and fling her back into the water. Melissa had ducked, but it had still clipped her shoulder. Clutching her shoulder, she looked at where Angela had been just a moment ago and realised this mission was turning out to be a nightmare; Melissa could only stare as her friend sank slowly in the water with the weight of her gear. With both her leg and shoulder injured, she didn't have the ability to save her. Her body was in too much shock to move and she had to watch on in horror as the seconds ticked by.

Melissa managed to find her voice eventually, the gunshots had stopped not long ago and she tried to yell out for any of her teammates, "HELP! Angela! She's in the water! Sergei! Gavin! Somebody!" She started to sob as she watched her friend continue to sink; feeling like a coward because she was too weak to save her.


	17. Chapter 18

Man, I wish I could write this much for my essays :S I really didn't think this chapter would be this long. Heck, I didn't think this fic would be this long, but it is and it's just gonna get even longer and longer. I gotta say, I'm surprised anyone actually bothers to read it. That being said I'm glad they do So once again, I recommend listening to 'Better' by Hurt. I like that song...oh btw I feel like a real idiot...but I draw-ed somefink for teh fic. I feel too shame to upload it though, since it's not very good. Did I mention this fic is damn long btw? Oh and thank you peoples for their reviews. I really don't get many so it makes my day when I get one :3

Chapter 18 – It gets better, but it always gets worse

After assessing the situation, Leon realised that neither side was faring very well. Unfortunately, for Angela and her team, now that he wouldn't be able to implement his original plan, he had to find another way to gather more information. He decided to try the office first, hopefully there was something useful there and that failing, he could try tracking down the man in charge and 'encourage' him to share some information.

Leon hated being inside searching for information while he knew that the officers outside needed help. He hated knowing that Angela was out there, fighting against those men and he wasn't there to look out for her. He had a job to do though and it just meant that he had to search faster so he could get to her quicker. Rummaging through the bin he found some crumpled papers; looking at them closer, he realised they were a list of the containers that the MFE were transporting. It was all he could find in the office, but hopefully it'd be of some use. He could still hear the gunshots out the front as he made his way to some of the other containers. He shot the lock off one of them and opened it to reveal there was nothing inside. Moving further in he noticed a small teddy bear in the corner, but inspecting it closer didn't reveal anything suspicious. Leon was confused, but then again this was a warehouse and there was no reason for him to be suspicious of these containers. Despite this, he couldn't help but feel the story behind them wasn't innocent.

Making his way to the front of the warehouse he noticed the head man crawling out one of the side doors. So far his search hadn't been fruitful, but if he could get the man to talk, he might be able to get some vital information. He felt guilty about leaving Angela and her team to deal with the rest of the MFE men, but he shouldn't let this opportunity go to waste. He knew it would be the right thing to do, with an unknown threat lurking on the horizon; they needed to stop it before things escalated.

Leon went after the man and soon came upon him outside lying on the ground; blood was starting to pool by his stomach and he didn't seem to be doing very well. Damn it! This was just what he needed. Crouching down beside the man, he disarmed him as he attempted to administer some first aid. He was fading fast though and he wouldn't survive long enough for an ambulance to reach them. Leon had to interrogate him now, but in this condition he would be lucky if he got any answers.

"What is your objective and what was the other group transporting?"

The man hadn't acknowledged Leon earlier, but hearing his questions he looked at him now, smirking slightly as he did. "You can't stop us; our plans are already being implemented."

"Tell me!" Leon barked at him.

The man started to chuckle, but it was soon replaced with coughing. He grinned, "Not much you can do though. We'll be creating a better race of man soon...one that is faster, stronger, smarter. You'll have the T-virus to thank for it too. We're going to make them all better. We'll show them, show them...our...perfect...beings..."

Leon felt for the man's pulse; he could barely feel it and it was slowing down. Finally it stilled and Leon stood up; the gunshots had stopped, but he was still grim. It seemed that what he had feared was true; this fanatical group had access to the T-virus and were determined to use it on people. He didn't know how far along in their plan they were, but where this virus was concerned, he had to move quickly. Suddenly he heard an explosion. Angela! He raced towards the dock, hoping that nothing had happened to her and was met with chaos. It looked like the explosion had come from an RPG fired by the MFE men. Some of the S.R.T. officers had taken cover from the gunshots that now rained on them, but he couldn't see Angela anywhere.

Seeing the men emerge from behind the container, Leon shot at them. He hit one of them, but there was another explosion. The other man had fired another RPG towards the officers and had hit one of the trucks sending debris flying everywhere. The last of the MFE members decided to make a break for it then, figuring that their last shot had gotten rid of the last of the officers. They were wrong, however, as Leon and the other concealed officers took them out. The gunshots had stopped and the officers moved to secure the area.

"Don't move!" One of the officers yelled at Leon as they rounded the corner.

"I'm Leon S. Kennedy. The government agent Angela Miller should have mentioned. My ID is in my jacket if you want it," he stated. The officer walked up to Leon and found his ID confirming what he'd said was true.

"This is Charlie two; I've made contact with that agent. He's here with me now...Yes sir." The officer turned back to Leon to address him, "The team leader would like to meet you. He's the one over there sir."

Leon nodded and made his way towards the front when he heard a woman yell, "HELP! Angela! She's in the water! Sergei! Gavin! Somebody!"

Leon's heart started racing when he heard Angela's name. Without a second thought he changed course and rushed towards the direction of the voice. However, nearing the dock edge his heart stopped when he saw her; she was there, lifeless in the water. He ripped off his jacket and leapt into the water. She had sunk pretty deep, probably due to her water-sodden gear, but he reached her quickly. Grabbing her with one arm, he used the other to help him back to the surface. Some of the other officers had jumped in to help and when they got her back on top, they could see she was deathly pale. Without hesitation they unzipped her vest – she wasn't breathing.


	18. Chapter 19 Waiting for your breath

Well, I've made some slow progress through my course...but as you can see I've been making wonderful progress with this! Naughty I know, but I'm getting there. Hmm...what else to say, thanks for still reading and the reviews. BTW I liked listening to 'The tea party – Wishing you were here'

Chapter 19 – Waiting for your breath

'Breathe Angela, damn it! Breathe!' Leon chanted in his head as he watched Angela's teammates try to revive her. She was so pale and so still, a vast contrast to the commotion around them. The sound of his cellphone beeping jarred him out of his torment. It was often an unwelcome intrusion, especially where Angela was concerned, but right now it was preferable to staring at her lifeless face feeling powerless.

Answering it, he realised that the caller was one of Mr Sanguini's henchmen. He clenched his jaw as he wondered what the vile man wanted. "What is it?" Leon ground out.

"Mr Sanguini apologises for this intrusion, but there is some urgent information that you might want to know. The MFE were expecting two different shipments tonight. The second shipment will be arriving in an hour at dock twelve."

"Why the hell didn't you inform me earlier!" Leon was outraged. If the second shipment was the one he thought it was, then it was by far the more dangerous of the two. Maybe if he had known about both of the shipments he would have gotten backup; backup which could have averted the havoc that occurred here, could have prevented Angela from being in this situation. However, when Leon heard cries of relief he forgot about his anger; Angela was finally breathing. Hanging up on the man mid-way through his excuses, Leon made his way back towards her.

It was a relief to see her eyes open and her body slowly regain some colour again. He could tell the others were too. Obviously she'd become close with her teammates in the short time that she'd been with them; while that had a lot to do with her line of work, it was also due to the fact that she was such a warm person. He could hear sirens and looking up he could see that the ambulances had arrived to take care of the injured. Most of the S.R.T. members' injuries weren't serious, but most of the MFE men were dead or seriously wounded.

A medic had come over to assess Angela and revealed that she might have suffered a head and neck injury, and taking her to the hospital they left Leon alone with the remaining uninjured S.R.T. officers. "So you're the special agent Angela mentioned. I hope you didn't have any buddies around the place, we didn't exactly leave those guys in the best condition."

Leon looked at the officer who addressed him; he looked like the team leader that was pointed out to him earlier. "No. I was alone doing an undercover mission; though you and your team just messed that up and created unnecessary casualties."

"You listen here you punk! How the hell were we to know that the government would be sending an agent! We're only the S.R.T. so you can't expect us to know this kinda stuff unless someone informs us!"

Leon clenched his jaw. "I've still got a job to do," he said as he walked away. He hadn't meant to lose his temper and normally he tried not to let his emotions get the better of him when he was working, but he was worried about Angela. He truly cared for her, which was why he had kept away from her in the first place; he thought she'd be safe from the hazards of his work if he wasn't around, but he had to realise that she would always be exposed to danger one way or another. However, he couldn't be distracted by her; right now, he had to check out the other shipment and this time he'd have backup.

...

Leon had called Hunnigans; she managed to organise a small military team to assist him, but after the events at the other dock he wasn't sure whether the other shipment would still be coming. The ship arrived and the MFE men moved to unload the containers. Once all the containers were unloaded, Leon and his men moved to put their plan into action. It all went smoothly, the men were subdued quickly, there were no explosions and there were few casualties on either side. The next move was to check the containers, but one by one they found them to be empty. They must have found out about the occurrences at the other dock; these guys were organised to have removed their shipment at such short notice. Damn it again! How were they to find out what the MFE were shipping! There was a shout from one of the men, however, as something was found in the last container; a small glass bottle that held a clear liquid in it. It looked as though it was left there just to taunt them, but it was the only lead they had now. Leon was infuriated; the earlier operation was a failure and this one seemed to be just as fruitless.

Leon pocketed the bottle; he should get it to Hunnigans ASAP to have it tested before he could come back to check on Angela. This was one of the reasons why he didn't get involved with people; his work had to take first priority, and he would always have to choose it before them. He didn't hate his work, being able to save people, but he sometimes wished he could be selfish and love somebody.


	19. Chapter 20

Siiigh, SOOO LONG! I want to get to the more interesting bits, but I just can't ignore writing stuff like this, it's because I rant a lot. BTW totally recommend listening to 'Daft Punk – Something about us'.

Chapter 20 – 

Leon had delivered the bottle they'd found to Hunnigans and made his way back to the hospital in Herford. Angela was still asleep, but he managed to find out that she had only suffered a mild concussion; 'a miracle' the doctor had said considering she was struck forcibly by a projectile.

"Leon? What are you doing here?"

Leon turned around, vaguely recognising the voice; it was Angela's friend from the other night and the woman who had yelled out last night for help. She was sitting upright in her bed reading a book. "The medic was afraid Angela might have had some serious head trauma so I just came to make sure she was alright."

Melissa looked a bit confused. "Wait, you were there last night at the dock? I don't...Hold on! Are you the special agent Angela was talking about? I thought you were part of her S.R.T. team back from Harvardville. Man, Sergei wanted to knock your block off last night; if you hadn't saved...That's right, you're also the one who jumped in after her too. Thank you, Leon. When she was flung back into the water, I couldn't save her. I felt like a coward at the time, but if I had jumped in after her, we both would have drowned. So I'm thankful you got to her in time."

"So am I Melissa, but how are holding up?"

"Not bad. My injuries aren't serious, but I'll still have to keep off my leg for a while. But, you know, I'd feel a lot better if I didn't have to put up with Angela moaning your name while she sleeps..." when Leon just stared back at her somewhat taken aback Melissa started chuckling softly. "I'm just joking Leon. Her feelings for you aren't a joke though and I know you feel something for her too. If you're not really sure then you should spend some time with her, to confirm whether you do or don't...like her."

What Melissa said made sense; it also confirmed that Angela still had feelings for him. Normally it wouldn't be possible to pursue a relationship with his job, but his current investigations meant that he would be in this area for a while. Maybe he could be a little selfish and at least enjoy her company until he solved this case. "I'll think about it. I forgot to ask though, what were you guys doing at that dock last night?"

"Angela had a lead on those MFE guys. She told our superior officer about it and he allowed us to follow it up."

"A lead on MFE? Where'd she get the information from? Not many law enforcement departments would actually go after them since they aren't very violent."

"We don't know. We've been doing some research on them and TRICELL after somebody contacted Angela warning her about them. The tip about the shipment came from her mystery informant and we had sufficient evidence on MFE to convince Rick."

Leon brooded over the identity of Angela's informant; at first he thought it may have been Mr Sanguini, but there was no motive. Curtis! Perhaps it was a friend or old colleague of his who was contacting her. The man might be able to provide them with better information than Mr Sanguini, but from the sounds of it there was no way for them to contact him. It looked like he'd have to be working closely with Angela on this one, not that he was complaining however. "Well, I'm not sure who your informant could be, but it might be safe to assume he's more clued up than mine is."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning you guys might be stuck with me for a while," he replied with a smirk.

"That's good. Are you going to stay till she wakes up? If you do, I suggest you watch out for our teammates; they're not too happy with you."

"Thanks for the warning, but when I said you guys would be stuck with me for a while, I meant those guys too."

Leon turned around when he heard groaning coming from Angela's bed. "That's the last time I go drinking with you Melissa. Melissa? Wait, where am I?"

"You idiot, you haven't got a hangover! You're in the hospital; you saved my a** and then decided to go for a swim while you were unconscious."

"Actually, more like you decided to go diving without me."

"Leon! Ouch!" exclaimed Angela as she had quickly turned her head.

"Take it easy, the doctor said your neck would be stiff for a while, plus you've got a mild concussion. Do you remember anything from yesterday?"

"What? I...vaguely remember...my god, it was chaos last night. All that really happened? Is everybody...are they...okay?"

"Yeah, everyone's okay, nothing serious, can't say the same for those MFE guys though." Melissa provided.

"So we have multiple members injured, huge amounts of damage to the dock and nothing to show for it...I'm guessing you were there for the same reason Leon, looks like we ruined both ours and your operation." Angela sighed looking away from them both.

Leon was surprised; he didn't expect her to react so negatively about last night, but he guessed she felt responsible since they had acted on her tip. Angela turned to look at him as he sat down beside her on her bed. "You're not responsible for last night's outcome Angela. You couldn't have prevented everything that happened and even though it's slowed down our progress, we just have to keep moving forward."

"I endangered my teammates, Melissa nearly died, I nearly died and I've got nothing to show for it! I don't know what I was thinking trying to solve this by ourselves, but I was way in over my head Leon. I never should have..."

"Never should have been yourself? Doing what you knew to be right? Someone wise once said, 'if you can't save one life, you'll never save any'. You knew the risk involved, so did your teammates. You all took this risk with the intention of saving the lives of many innocent people. Don't ever disregard it Angela."

Leon brushed away the few tears that had slid down her cheeks. "Thank you, Leon."

They stayed like that for a while, staring at each other until Leon pulled away. He knew he enjoyed being in her company, but he still had to determine the extent of his feelings for her; being overly affectionate would only lead her along and he didn't want to hurt her. "You should get some more rest. I'll come back later; there are some things that we need to talk about."

"Make sure you get some too."

He nodded and walked away. It had been a long night for him and he really needed some sleep. He hadn't had time to work out accommodation and he was too tired for the journey back to his apartment a few hours away. He'd probably check into a motel somewhere nearby.

"Hey Leon, you can crash at Angela's place. I think she's fallen asleep again, but I know she won't mind; the sofa's got a pullout bed, there's linen in the hallway cupboard and she's got lots of food."

Leon smirked, "You're quite the conspirator aren't you?"

"Well it is closer than any motel. Your choice though. If you ask the neighbour across for a spare key she'll give it to you. Just say Gertrude sent you."

Leon decided he'd actually take her up on the offer; he was too tired to go searching for a motel.


	20. Ch 21

It was hard yet again trying to find a song to fit this chapter, so I was flipping through my playlist and I came upon 'Adema – Let go'. I love the melody, but I wasn't sure whether the lyrics would fit (I actually rarely listen to lyrics so it's hard to find songs to fit my chapters sometimes, since I only really pay attention to the tune most of the time). However, listening to the lyrics, I thought it was funny, because it was what Angela and Leon should be doing, but they're doing the opposite.

Chapter 21 – Submit and be free 

"I'm so jealous that you can be discharged tomorrow morning. I'm going to be stuck here, bored out of my mind. There's just so much you can read before you start getting stir-crazy"

"Melissa, you've only been here for a day and a half, it can't be that bad already?"

"Well, yeah, but it will be! I won't be able to run around and do stuff since I'm not allowed on my leg for a while."

"Melissa you're such a spoilt brat. You can stay with me after you get discharged, but keep in mind I'll be kicking you out once you're better."

"Aw, you're so sweet Angela! But is there going to be place for me?"

"What do you mean by that? There's the sofa."

"Well, not really. I told Leon to crash at your place while he was here."

"What?"

"Hey, it's the least you could do after he saved you."

"I thought it was Gavin and the others."

"Yeah, they did give you CPR, but you were under quite a while. If he hadn't gotten to you so quickly...I don't even want to think about it."

Angela lapsed into silence as she realised that she owed her life to Leon yet again; he was always saving her. "I thought I was supposed to be doing the saving, not getting saved by others," she murmured.

"Hmmm? I didn't hear you, what'd you say?"

"Nothing," Angela replied laying her head back. She'd get to leave the hospital tomorrow morning, but she wasn't sure she could face Leon after her little pity fest. She was normally so strong, but she always felt so safe around him that she sometimes let her guard down. She had definitely fallen for him, but he'll be leaving again as soon as his mission is completed. She had to listen to herself when she said that a relationship with him was impossible; he didn't completely reciprocate her feelings and his job came first.

...

'Beep beep'

Damn it. He really hated his phone sometimes. "What have you got for me Hunnigans?"

"We analysed the substance you brought us. It's a protein."

"That's it?"

"I'd like to give you something more, but there simply isn't anything else I can tell you. The researchers said it's a small peptide, but since they don't know the source of it they couldn't tell you exactly what it does. They've done some tests on lab rats to determine whether it has a dangerous effect on mammals, but there have been no changes in them. Sorry Leon."

"It's alright. We shouldn't have expected much to begin with." Leon's head fell back to hit the pillow when his brows furrowed in confusion. After a few moments it cleared as he realised he was in Angela's apartment. It had been pleasant when he walked into the apartment and was enveloped by her scent; a sweet musky aroma that went straight to his head. And it felt lived in, almost like a home; it was a comfortable feeling, one that encircled him as he had fallen asleep. But now that he had woken up, he wondered what the heck he was doing here; sure he wanted to spend time with her, but being so familiar felt like he was trying to take advantage of her. When he came to the conclusion that it wasn't right for him to be there he decided to leave immediately. So, leaving behind a note he walked out of her apartment with the intention of following up another lead.

...

Angela walked into her apartment half expecting to find Leon, but there was no sign of him apart from some sheets folded on her sofa and a note,

_Angela,_

_Thanks for the hospitality. If your informant contacts you again, try to arrange a meeting or get some contact details. It's vital we get more information from him. If you find anything you can contact me on the following number._

_Leon_

Unsurprisingly, Angela was disappointed. Even though she knew she should have expected it, she was half hopeful that he'd be there when she returned. Instead it was all business and he only wanted information from her. She slumped down into her sofa wondering where to go from here, "Curtis, you were right about men."

Angela had fallen asleep on the sofa when she had been woken up by her cellphone ringing. "Hello?"

"I'm glad you're okay. I found out about the fiasco at the dock and let's just say that those dark shadows you're chasing aren't happy about their operations being hindered."

"Mr X? I thought you said that it wasn't safe to contact me for a while, but more importantly is there some way for me to get in contact with you when I need to? Things are looking serious and we haven't got any leads to get us closer to the answer. What are TRICELL and MFE doing? Please tell me! Once I know, we can get the proper authorities to do something! We can even protect you if you're in a precarious situation."

"I'm afraid it's not that easy. There have already been some suspicions; if too much information is provided and you act on it then it may lead to some rash regrettable decision being made this side. At present, they don't completely believe that anyone is on their trail, but they will lash out the moment they do. I need you to be a little more patient and trust me when I say that it is not the right time to act. Goodbye."

"Damn it!" she yelled punching the pillow she had fallen asleep on; she trusted Mr X, but she couldn't just sit here and do nothing! Finally Angela decided to go into work. She couldn't think of a better distraction than throwing herself into work. For now, she would settle for filling out all the paperwork that would have mounted up after the other night, at least until she got her head clear.


End file.
